A Concise Version:
On 11 July 1861, in one of the first engagements of the American Civil War, Union regiments under the overall command of General George B. McClellan attacked and defeated Confederate troops defending a strategic mountain pass on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike.
This Union victory, west of the town of Beverly (then county seat of Randolph County, Virginia), brought General McClellan to national prominence. More importantly, it gave the Federal forces control over much of Appalachian northwestern Virginia and allowed these counties to form a government that eventually led to the creation of a new state: West Virginia.
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